The Celtic Book of Living and Dying

by Juliette Wood

Richly adorned with Celtic-style art and artifacts and landscape photographs, an intriguing look at ancient Celtic wisdom follows the course of life from birth to death and the afterlife, as it presents poetry, inspirational wisdom, and timeless tales of heroes, magic, and fantastical creatures.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Mythology, Art, Religion, Paganism, Spirituality

144 pages, Hardcover

First published April 11, 1969

Reviews

[Avonlea Rose · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fascinating overview of Celtic folkloric wisdom. Although there was something low-budget (or just amateur) about how some of the pages were put together, it nonetheless contained an attractively colourful array of artwork and photographs, which I enjoyed. My greatest issue was with the use of vague language (detailed below). The author, Juliette Wood, does not cite many sources and one can't be sure where she is getting her information, even if it mostly sounds about right. Some strong editing should have cleared this up. There is, however, a good breadth of general information here and a summarization of the major stories in Celtic folklore. As such, it still makes a good introduction and leaves the reader many clues to do further research; but the failure to write appropriately completely diminishes these positives.

-------

pg. 11: "On Calean Gaef - as 'Winter's Eve' was known in Wales [...] " When (what year) does this story take place? And who recorded this story? Taliesin himself, or is this an oral tradition?

pg. 12: "For the Celts war was not mindless, mechanical slaughter, but a complex craft [...]" According to whom? What evidence supports this? She does carry on to state that Cuchulainn learned 27 combat feats and suggests that their names are sufficient evidence to prove that more than "brute strength" was valued. I don't doubt that it was, but she doesn't exactly lay out a strong case. And how do we know who Cuchulainn is anyway? Is he from oral tradition or are there written stories that record these combat feats of his? Wood doesn't tell the reader.

pg. 12: "Beautifully decorated weapons [...] go with him [the warrior] to his grave to serve him in the afterlife ." How do we know this? What archaeological evidence has shown us this is the case? Why is this written in first tense - is this still a common tradition in the British Isles? Or is the author only trying to mimic Carmichael with the quaint use of present tense?

pg. 15: "Celtic poets are often fighters as well as singers of songs. Their status as bards gives them special privileges in war so they seldom perish in the fighting." It appears Juliette Wood is entirely relying on the Gododdin for these ideas; but she doesn't exactly explain what "special privileges" she thinks they had or how they prevented slaughter. Nor is it clear from this paragraph how the Y Goddodin tells us about bards in battle. Does Wood have any evidence to back up these claims? Is the Y Goddodin a good source of information about real bards? One could ask again why she chooses first tense here. Are there still Celtic poets being granted special privileges in war? Are modern Celtic poets also typically fighters as well?

pg. 78: "In this ceremonial object from southern Austria..." Ok. Who discovered this object? Why is it relevant to "Celts" if it was found in Austria? Juliette Wood makes some suggestions on how it might have been used, but she doesn't say if these are her own ideas or where she got them from. She also fails to identify the object by name.

In another case, on page 44, she features a "miniature boat." She doesn't identify it as the Broighter boat.

pg. 123: On "The Duties of a Bard." Wood, confusedly, continues to employ first tense in this section. Do "Celtic bards [still] have great responsibilities "? She continues to forget to inform readers where she is getting her information. How do we know that there were apprentices for bards and that they were taught in "triads "? She cites an example of a triad here... and doesn't say where it's from.

I am not about to detail every example of this, as the whole book is written this way. As I wrote above, strong editing could have resolved this issue. These sentences might have been reworded to be more concise and succinct and to provide the reader clearer information that they could then verify.

For an example, in the caption related above for the "ceremonial object" on page 78, Juliette Wood might have written something like this: "This object, referred to as the Strettwegg Wagon by historians, was discovered by archaeologists in Austria. It is dated by experts in the field to the Hallstatt period, which is commonly associated with Celtic culture. Some historians have suggested it might have had a cultic use, but this has not been verified."

Or, on her write-up of Celtic warriors, she might have written something alike: "Items found in graves dated to this time period show us that Celtic warriors were buried with beautiful weapons that, presumably, were to accompany them into the afterlife."

Or, in her section on the "The Shining Brow" on pg. 11, she could have made things more clear for her reader by writing: "According to the Mabinogion, on Calean Gaef (as Winter's Eve is traditionally called in Welsh)..."

All in all, this book is a good attempt to encompass Celtic culture, but Juliette Woods (in spite of her credentials) lacks the academics to present her information in a correct and easily comprehensible way. It's a shame that she did not have a good editor to assist her in putting together this volume and wording her ideas to reflect scholarship... and, well, frankly, just to help improve her writing on any level.

As an aside, I'd like to add that I find it strange that there is no preface or author foreword , just a short bio hidden on the jacket at the back. One would think in such a book, an author would like to boast their credentials and showcase their knowledge on the subject. The bio tells us she has a Ph.D but not in what field. (According to her website, it is in 'Conceptual Geography in Medieval Tradition’.) I feel that an author foreword or preface would have helped this book immensely. It could have been explained to her reader that the information in this book is a reflection of what she has gleaned through her professional career, and what she has taught through her lectures at the University of Wales. This would have lessened the need for Wood to properly citate everything she writes by making it clear to the reader that they are reading her opinions and speculations- not actual facts. It would also have helped if Woods had provided her own definition of "Celtic." As she writes herself in the Introduction: "Not since the days of the Greeks and Romans has the term 'Celtic' been so broadly applied and so hard to define." If even the Romans and Greeks weren't sure what Celts are, and we modern readers know even less - how do we know exactly what we are talking about here unless Wood sets it out for us?

[SA · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll be honest, that fourth star is for the illustrations that accompany this book, and it's a damn shame the illustrator isn't referenced, because they are great. That said, Wood's text is accessible, current, and reasonably on target with my admittedly high expectations; there's definitely some places where the author could have used a freer hand with interpretation of the myths and legends -- Celtic mythology, like pretty much all mythology, is way queerer than it's presented and there's a throughline of Christian moralism that is to be expected and endured albeit tiresomely so. (Not, I'll note, because I believe Wood to be applying her own perspective, but because the source material is largely medieval Christian in origin and Ireland and its legends are persistently Christian if paganishly so.)

A lovely book all around, one for the proverbial coffee table.

[Jody Mena]

A great overview of Celtic culture and religion. The arrangement of the information into blocks, and the visual denotation of this particular version, with it's colored pages and rich illustration really added to the experience; it was like reading an illuminated manjuscript and helped put you in the right mindset to absorb the cultural information.

[Elizabeth Ellis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Many of the references in this book are glossed over assuming that the reader fully trusts the author. Heavy Christian and Roman influence leads to misinformation of Celtic myth, lifestyle, and history. For instance, Celtic history HAD BEEN written by Celts, but had been burned by St. Patrick and subsequent disciple Christians. It is unknown why later Christian monks decided to transcribe the stories, biased as they were.

The "Celtic tradition" cited in this book ranges from about the 9th to 18th century, take that as you will.

[Roger · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Celtic Book of Living and Dying is subtitled "An Illustrated Guide to Celtic Wisdom." In this case the word wisdom is used in the sense of lore, and this book treats us to quite a bit of fascinating Celtic lore, lavishly illustrated. This is a light read I found to be very entertaining. This would be a good book to while away a rainy afternoon.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m in the fence about this book. I picked it because I wanted to learn more about the Celts. Over all I found the book quite confusing. It is structured around themes, but that means some characters appear in different chapters. But: the general information is valuable, the illustrations are nice and it does give an insight in the pre-Christian and Celtic Christian tradition.

[Diego · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice book with pretty pictures. More of a coffee table than informative. I find it hard to focus with all the boxes of extra text scattered in every page.
It's also very generalistic putting together all Celtic lore, guess is fine for a general basic knowledge.

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book did not end up being what I had hoped it was. The information in it was good but extremely surface level and not well organized.

[Anthony Zappia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great introduction to the ideas and symbols that make up the ancient Celtic beliefs with lots of beautiful illustrations and photos.

[Lizzi Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brief yet eloquent tellings of Celtic myths, separated into sections from mysticism to spirituality, to animals and fairies, to heroes and druids. I found it all very interesting, especially the Triads of Knowledge:

The three fountains of knowledge:
Thought;
Intuition;
Learning.

Three kinds of men are there:
Men of God who return good for evil,
Men of this world who give good for good and evil for evil,
And the Devil's men who repay good with evil.

[Ivy Blossom · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice introduction to Celtic Mythology. Although the book is thin and comes nowhere near the great collection of myth and folklore of the Celtics, it's a interesting starting point for those delving deep into the culture and a way to get familiarized with its main concepts. A few stories mention in passing definitely caught my interest and I'll be looking forward to reading them in their full form

[Echo · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the things I really like about this book is it's fantastic illustrations. It's full of very nice, very colorful pictures. It's also full of information. If you want an overview of some of the celtic mythology (including Scotland, Wales, Ireland, etc.), then this is a great book for that. If you're looking for something that goes into great detail, you might try another source.

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great introduction to Celtic wisdom and lore. I read a version with a prettier cover than the one pictured, so I don't know if the illustrations are the same, but I felt the paintings and photos really enhanced this overview of Celtic ideas and legends. Great source material for a writer, I recommend this book. This gives a basic intro, and you can research further.

[Sheila · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book about living a life guided by Celtic spirituality. I'd recommend this book to anyone of any faith that feels a connection with the peoples of Ancient Britain, whether you claim ancestors among them or not. I have used the I wisdom and lessons in this book in my own life.

[Naomi Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the format of this. It was pretty.

Not the most informative book ever, but for the "coffee table" kind of format, I liked it a lot. And it has a decent Further Reading list in the back.

I'm glad to own this book :)

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

beautiful illustrations. great tales.

[Bianca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this. No idea how accurate this actually is, as the mere definition of 'Celts' is a bit of a controversy, I suppose, but spiritually, I liked it. :)

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well-illustrated, fascinating book full of stories and drawings from the ancient and medieval Celts; good for a coffee table.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful book. It is short and not in-depth, but gives a lovely overview of the Celtic world in a clear, concise, and beautiful manner.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and easy to read, but ultimately only surface-level stuff. Nothing is examined deeply.

[Rosea Bellator · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muito bom, mas são poucas páginas :'(

[Bruce Hammond · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting tales and legends from my Irish heritage.